Ofsted Report 2023

You can now view our final OFSTED report following our inspection on 4th and 5th October.

I am delighted to report that the outcome of the inspection was that the school continues to be good.  In our verbal feedback following the inspection, the inspectors were full of praise for a wide variety of aspects of the school’s work, and I am pleased to see these areas have been selected for praise in the report.  Students are described as “happy and safe” and “polite, courteous and extremely welcoming to visitors to the school”. Behaviour, safeguarding, student wellbeing and the support for students with special education needs all come through positively in the report, as did our approach to teaching reading.

We have had a significant focus on putting in place a powerful curriculum for the 21st century, and the report recognises the “diverse and ambitious” curriculum that we have put in place, including a strong curriculum for enrichment, personal development and careers.  It was great that inspectors recognised the quality of the curriculum, and the access to a “deep range of skills and knowledge” as well as the quality of teaching provided by our knowledgeable teachers.  The area for development in the report will help us to focus on making our curriculum even more explicit in terms of the most important knowledge that students need to learn, which in turn will help us to further develop and improve assessment.   

I was also pleased that inspectors recognised that the school is committed to taking the views of parents into account; thank you to all parents and carers who gave such positive feedback in the survey.  I know of course that there are sometimes occasions when parents and carers have concerns about things in school.  I am grateful that the vast majority of parents raise these concerns through the proper channels so that we can look into them and resolve them.  I would ask that any concerns continue to be raised directly with the school, and that other channels, including social media are not used to comment on the school.   

This inspection report puts us in a really strong position to move the school on to the next stage of its development.  On the back of this report and our best ever headline results in English and Maths this year, as well as very strong results in science, languages, and a range of other subjects, we feel confident that the next time OFSTED come to the school in four years’ time, they will be judging the school as outstanding.  We know this can only be achieved in a genuine partnership between the school staff, students and parents and carers.  I look forward to working with you on the next stage of our journey, as we further embed our vision of embracing diversity, unlocking potential and inspiring learning. 

Best wishes,

Nick Hinchliffe

Principal